The 6 Powers We Seek Instead of Pentecost

Pentecost comes and goes so quickly. And we so quickly forget what we have received, trading our birthright for a bowl of porridge called power.

Here are six kinds of power followers of Christ often seek after instead of the promise of Pentecost—the Holy Spirit. Many times these six work together, sometimes they compete with each other.

1) Political Power — Gaining influence or security through passing laws, appointing judges, and using government funding for different social or civil projects.

2) Financial Power — Gaining influence or security through money, giving or withholding support in politics or other realms.

3) Popular Power — Gaining influence or significance through knowing others and being known by others in such a way that your opinion, thoughts, knowledge, or actions direction the opinions, thoughts, knowledge, or action of a larger group of people.

4) Creative Power — Gaining influence or significance through designing, curating, or creating objects or events that others want to consume or attain.

5) Start Up Power — Gaining influence or significance by being the first to do something, to create a business or campaign to change an industry, neighborhood, or city.

6) Brute Power — Gaining influence or security through intimidation and domination.

Power and Culture

Any of these 6 kinds of power (and I’m sure there are others) seek to change culture—the collective waters we swim in and air we breathe.  These powers seek to shape the things that shapes us—our culture.  

• Political power shapes the legality and legitimacy of the things we do (for/against guns, drugs, abortion, etc.)
• Financial power shapes what kind of access we have (or give) to the tangible resources of society. 
• Popular power shapes the what kind of influence we have over the intellectual and affective resources of society. 
• Creative power shapes our imaginations of what is possible and permissible.
• Start Up power shapes and organizes the other powers by starting something new to shape culture. 
• Brute power through sheer force, enforcing the status quo of culture or by overthrowing it.

These Are Not Enough

These (and other) powers are not evil in themselves—though brute power as coercion is the closest. But they can be turn to evil pretty quickly. 

And focusing on these powers too much is often a distraction.

These powers can (and usually do) turn into the “powers and principalities” that Jesus needed to defeat in order to free us for God’s kingdom (Col. 2:15).  While these powers are—in a sense—part of God’s creation, they have now been turned more often than not toward evil purposes. 

And too often humanity pursues—tooth and claw—this power, rejoicing when we have it and resenting others when we don’t.

Wait & Receiving the Power

But the apostles and disciples were told to wait until they had been “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Only in waiting would they “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts1:8).  

They were not to take power.  They were to wait for it. 

They were not to pursue power. They received it. 

The disciples had to wait and receive the power just as their risen Messiah had—journeying the way of the cross.

And What Is This Power?

Among many others, the Holy Spirit gives us:

1) The power to be witnesses—not of their own mighty works, but those of another greater still (Acts 1:8).

2) The power to bear (relational) fruit—that would bless others, not themselves alone (Gal. 5:22-26).

3) The power to be called children of God—who are loved and blessed for who they are, not what they do (Gal. 4:4-6).

4) The power to dwell in the presence of God—from whom all true blessings come (Eph. 2:21-22).

5) And the power to stand against the schemes of the devil (Eph. 6:10).

Be Strong 

Be strong in the Lord and in his mightypower.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Eph. 6:10-12)

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor. 10:3-5)